Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

the type of behaviour that we saw today. They would be the first to call for the type of action the Senate has just taken. And there is a message in that for Australians. Senator Thorpe is only here because she was a Greens candidate, and, though she may no longer be a member of the Greens, the Greens are willing to defend behaviour that no other member of this Senate voted to defend. Not the Labor Party, not the Liberal Party, not the National Party, nor any other member of the crossbench was willing to defend the type of behaviour that the Senate has rightly just called out. I hope that Australians do not just judge Senator Thorpe for her actions today and the disrespect she has shown to the institution of our parliament but judge the Australian Greens for the disrespect they have shown to the institution of our parliament.

I hope that all senators and Senator Thorpe can reflect upon these proceedings in a way that shows the type of respect that this place deserves in the future. We should have robust debates, we should absolutely have strong disagreements in this place, but how we conduct those debates should, as per the Jenkins review—which, as the Minister for Finance, I was proud to commission and proud to work with Kate Jenkins on—set the standard for how the nation debates its differences, not demonstrate the type of disrespect that drives division in our community.